Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Saints have not run the ball particularly well so far this season. One reason is they haven't tried that hard to run the ball.

Here's a chance to try and do some real hand offs, instead of those long hand offs -- the short passes. Drew Brees will likely wear a knee brace and the team does not want to expose him to too many hits.

New Orleans also wants to get its rookie running back Chris Ivory involved and see what he has to offer. No better chance than Sunday against the 0-3 Panthers who cannot fight back on offense.

Who: Carolina (0-3) at New Orleans (2-1)

Where: Louisiana Superdome; New Orleans

When: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET

TV Coverage: FOX

Players to Watch: Carolina middle linebacker Dan Connor against Saints fullback Heath Evans. It should be Evans leading into the hole for Ivory.

Also watch Jon Beason, the Carolina linebacker, and possible position switches for the Panthers in the wake of injuries.

San Diego Padres pitcher Mat Latos caused quite a stir this week when he criticized the rival Giants for their in-season offensive overhaul, accomplished largely by picking up cast-offs from other teams.

"Baseball works in funny ways," Latos told CBSSports.com. "The only way I could honestly put it is, we could be like the Giants and go and change our whole lineup, put guys with 'San Francisco Giants' across their jerseys. We didn't.

"We added two guys (Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick). We've been the same team all year. We haven't just gone and grabbed guys from other teams."

Among the Giants' midseason acquisitions are outfielders Pat Burrell, Jose Guillen and Cody Ross along with infielder Mike Fontenot, all of whom were acquired either via post-July 31 trades (Guillen and Fontentot), straight waiver claims (Ross) or in free agency (Burrell).

Major League Baseball president and chief operating officer Bob Dupuy will resign from his post, effective Oct. 31, the league announced in a press release.

Dupuy, at the request of commissioner Bud Selig, will continue working on special projects for the league, including the Oakland Athletics' quest for a new stadium.

"It has been a great privilege to serve the commissioner and the 30 clubs for more than 20 years in my various positions and I greatly appreciate the confidence they have shown me throughout," Dupuy said in a statment. "I am very grateful to the entire MLB and MLBAM staff for their tireless energy and devotion to the game. I look forward to continuing to serve in my new role."

Dupuy has served in his current role since March 2002, spearheading among other things the formation of Major League Baseball Advanced Media, which has become a major cash cow for the league.

"We will have discussions in the not-so-distant future," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said last week. "We will deal with the next contracts in the ordinary course."

Bettman, however, said he wouldn't discuss whether the NHL would talk to ESPN or other outlets as part of seeking a new TV deal. Bettman added that the league is in regular dialogue with its TV partners.

"There is a lot of hype and focus on it," Bettman said. "We are not at the stage viewing it with the same level of scrutiny as it's been getting. That's not to say it's not important."

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The LeBron James era never materialized in New York City, but point guard Chris Duhon still feels like he played right through a part of it.

Duhon was the starting point guard for the Knicks the past two seasons, trying to lead a team whose only real goal was creating salary cap space to lure James in his celebrated summer of free agency.

James never came, but his presence always was felt.

"It was tough because that's what you heard every day in New York. 'We're going to get LeBron.' That's what everyone was hoping for,'' Duhon said. "The last two years, it was like, whatever happens, happens ... because then we're going to get LeBron.''

Duhon directed the make-shift Knicks to just 32 and 29 victories the last two seasons, trying unsuccessfully to stabilize an unstable situation. In two seasons, Duhon had 31 different teammates in New York. It was more of a revolving door than a real roster with players and roles changing constantly. By the end of last season, he also had been replaced in the lineup.

Now he's been signed by Seahawks. It turns out that the Seahawks were simply waiting to make sure that Stokley was healthy. Once they were sure he was good to go, he was signed.

That was Tuesday, and Wednesday the 34-year-old wide receiver was on the practice field, getting used to his new surroundings.

He's a newcomer to Seattle, but he's relatively familiar to the Seahawks' offense dating back to his 2007-08 stint in Denver when Seattle offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates was an assistant on the Broncos' staff.

"We will have discussions in the not-so-distant future," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said last week. "We will deal with the next contracts in the ordinary course."

Bettman, however, said he wouldn't discuss whether the NHL would talk to ESPN or other outlets as part of seeking a new TV deal. Bettman added that the league is in regular dialogue with its TV partners.

"There is a lot of hype and focus on it," Bettman said. "We are not at the stage viewing it with the same level of scrutiny as it's been getting. That's not to say it's not important."

The tweet was in reference to Tuesday's shooting in the library at the University of Texas, where a gunman opened fire before killing himself. No one else was injured.

Texas and Oklahoma play their traditional Red River Rivalry game this Saturday. Reynolds will not play despite his quick retraction, tweeting immediately after,"Everyone in austin, tx disregard that last tweet....y'all will mess around n do it lmao."

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops (right) responded to Reynolds' remarks in a statement released by the school.

"Because of his insensitive remarks on Twitter relative to Tuesday's tragedy in Austin, we have suspended Jaz Reynolds from our team indefinitely," the statement read.

"Our rivalry with Texas will not come at the expense of dignity and respect. We have great concern for what happened in Austin and I am incredibly disappointed that someone connected with our team would react so callously. We have taken immediate action and I hope by doing so have illustrated how seriously we view this matter."

A sophomore receiver, Reynolds has yet to see action this season for eighth-ranked Oklahoma, which enters its matchup with Texas undefeated at 4-0.

It's happiness week in Big D. The Cowboys got off the schneid last Sunday by knocking off cross-state rival Houston to head into their bye with smiles on their faces.

You know there's not much substantial or controversial going at Valley Ranch when the big story in the Metroplex newspapers is how top draft choice Dez Bryant had to cough up nearly $55,000 for a dinner with his offensive teammates after refusing to carry fellow receiver Roy Williams' helmet off the field during training camp.

Dallas is just 1-2, but San Diego is the only other team whose offense and defense rank in the top eight in the league. But look deeper at the numbers and the Cowboys have trouble.

The only franchise that employed two of the top seven rushers of all-time, Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett, is off to a horrible start on the ground. Dallas ranks 26th in rushing with the same trio of backs, Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, that wound up seventh last season.

While Dallas' opponents, Washington, Houston and Chicago, are all ranked in the top 11 in rush defense, only the Texans finished in the top 15 last year and none are considered among the elite at stopping the run.

Certainly the Cowboys were hurt by the absence of left guard Kyle Kosier and right tackle Marc Colombo in the opener with ailing knees. Kosier's flared up again last week. But that's not enough to explain the precipitous drops in the backs' averages. Starter Barber has slipped from 4.4 yards per carry to 3.5. Speedster Jones has fallen from 5.9 to 4.0. And Choice has crashed from 5.9 to 2.6.

There's plenty of time for Dallas to reverse what's on pace to be its worst year on the ground since its 1960 expansion season. On the other hand, the Cowboys still have dates with the usually excellent run defenses of Green Bay, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Tennessee.

Urban Meyer fantasizes about coaching Notre Dame, so you can call him a dreamer. You can call him a good Catholic boy. You can call him college football's most accomplished parole officer.

One thing Meyer has never been called is a fool.

He is named after a pope, so Meyer knows Chris Rainey will be granted sainthood before the Fighting Irish win another national championship. And if a school can't win a title, why go?

That's why Meyer chose to coach Florida instead of Notre Dame. That's why despite reaffirming his dream of coaching the Irish last year, Meyer never considered leaving Gainesville. Reality trumps emotion, and the former Notre Dame assistant knows the Irish will never be relevant.

Sure, they will always matter in cosmetic ways. NBC will keep showing them. Their recruiting classes will always be ranked as the second coming of the '79 Steelers. Their new coach will always be hailed as the next Knute Rockne.

Since joining the NHL during the 1999 season, the Atlanta Thrashers haven't done many things right (you don't go more than a decade without a postseason win for nothing). This offseason, however, has been an interesting one for Atlanta hockey, as the team has made a couple of solid moves that should improve the on-ice product, including the free agent addition of goaltender Chris Mason, as well as the trades that brought Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd from the Chicago Blackhawks during their salary cap purge.

One of the more interesting -- and as it turns out, controversial -- moves made by the team this summer involved the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Byfuglien, and his position switch that will take him from forward to the blue line. One person that's not a fan of that move? Former NHL superstar Jeremy Roenick, who went absolutely biblical in his criticism of the move during his weekly radio show.

Despite Pittsburgh's victory in St. Louis, the Mariners' win against the Rangers ensured the Pirates will have the No. 1 pick in next year's draft. The Pirates are 56-101 and the Mariners are 61-96, so they could still finish with the same record, but the Pirates would "win" the tiebreaker for the top pick -- the worst record in the previous season's standings.

As awful as the Pirates have been in recent years, they haven't held the top overall draft pick since 2002. Given that they used it to select Bryan Bullington, perhaps it's just as well they haven't been afforded the honor since then.

The Pirates picked second overall this year and chose right-hander Jameson Taillon, two years after taking Pedro Alvarez in the same spot.

The toughness and grit those players provide seems to have started to rub off on the star players, as Saturday's preseason game against Columbus -- a 3-1 Penguins win -- saw Evgeni Malkin drop the gloves and throw down with Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash late in the third period. It was the fifth fight of the night, including a pair that involved swift-skating defenseman Kris Letang.

For three consecutive weeks, Toledo players and coaches have been treated to steak dinners on Sunday.

It's a tradition second-year head coach Tim Beckman inserted as incentive to win games, and the Rockets are starting to get used to it.

"You only have 13 or 14 opportunities in a year to celebrate if you make it to a championship game and you make it to a bowl game," Beckman said. "So we like to celebrate Sundays. We have cake and ice cream and steak. It's a time for us to celebrate because of all the hard work that they've done to win a game."

Toledo has won three consecutive games -- all on the road -- a feat the Rockets haven't accomplished since 2002. But this past weekend's 31-20 win over Purdue was something special. Not only did it give the Rockets a win over a Big Ten team, it also showed Beckman that his team is starting to buy into his system and understand how to win.

"We will have discussions in the not-so-distant future," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said last week. "We will deal with the next contracts in the ordinary course."

Bettman, however, said he wouldn't discuss whether the NHL would talk to ESPN or other outlets as part of seeking a new TV deal. Bettman added that the league is in regular dialogue with its TV partners.

"There is a lot of hype and focus on it," Bettman said. "We are not at the stage viewing it with the same level of scrutiny as it's been getting. That's not to say it's not important."

The toughness and grit those players provide seems to have started to rub off on the star players, as Saturday's preseason game against Columbus -- a 3-1 Penguins win -- saw Evgeni Malkin drop the gloves and throw down with Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash late in the third period. It was the fifth fight of the night, including a pair that involved swift-skating defenseman Kris Letang.

Bruce homered on the first pitch from Tim Byrdak leading off the ninth inning Tuesday for a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros that secured the NL Central title and touched off the long-awaited party in a city where champagne sprays were commonplace in the '70s and '90s.

"There's nothing like it," said Bruce, who repeatedly got doused with bottles of Korbel champagne and 24-ounce cans of beer.

It was a fitting finish to the unexpected championship drive. Cincinnati has won 22 games in its last at-bat, second-most in the majors. Drama found them all season long as they got into contention early, then held off the heavily favored Cardinals.

"When he hit that one up there, there was a big sigh of relief and the party was on," manager Dusty Baker said.

The legend of Greg Oden continues to ... well, something. You could say "grow," but in the macro sense, that's simply not true, for, at this pace, in 50 years precious few will be eager to discuss Oden's legacy. "Twist" or "develop in odd, gourd-like ways" are probably better suited verbs in this case.

This case: Oden has stopped drinking and partying (good) and has patellar tendinitis, can't practice and won't be ready for the start of the season (bad, bad, bad). Ace Oregonian beat man Jason Quick got the story of Oden's turn for the mundane, which actually happened 10 months ago and isn't actually a complete rejection of alcohol or fun. Oden just realized his reputation preceded him, and that it'd probably be best for his image and body to stop partying so hard. And so he instituted a limit on his club attendance. Good for him.

He has also, with the help of his mom, learned to accept that Kevin Durant is better than him, despite Oden going No. 1 over KD in the '07 draft. That's got to be difficult; I wonder, in all seriousness, if KD winning an MVP -- showing superiority over not just Oden but Kobe, LeBron, Dwight and everyone -- would help Greg's internal healing process.

Bruce homered on the first pitch from Tim Byrdak leading off the ninth inning Tuesday for a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros that secured the NL Central title and touched off the long-awaited party in a city where champagne sprays were commonplace in the '70s and '90s.

"There's nothing like it," said Bruce, who repeatedly got doused with bottles of Korbel champagne and 24-ounce cans of beer.

It was a fitting finish to the unexpected championship drive. Cincinnati has won 22 games in its last at-bat, second-most in the majors. Drama found them all season long as they got into contention early, then held off the heavily favored Cardinals.

"When he hit that one up there, there was a big sigh of relief and the party was on," manager Dusty Baker said.

ORLANDO - Either Vince Carter will arrive this season like a belated birthday card - better late than never - or this homecoming will be shorter than he ever thought.

They still could stamp him "return to sender.''

Carter arrived in a trade last summer billed as the final piece to a championship team, then painfully became the package of damaged goods, leaving the Orlando Magic without the consistent perimeter star they needed for the playoffs.

He was thrilled to be back near his hometown of Daytona Beach, but he rarely played like it, looking more like a burden than a blessing when he wilted in the Eastern Conference finals against Boston, leading to an embarrassing end for a team with such high expectations.

"I expect him now to be Vince Carter, and last season he wasn't,'' said Magic general manager Otis Smith. "We expect more from him.''

Carter, 33, is facing a pivotal season, beginning the final guaranteed year ($17.3 million) of his contract. Unless Carter plays well early and the Magic look like serious contenders against Miami and Boston, they will try and unload his potentially expiring contract before the trade deadline in February. And if they can't, they already have decided not to pick up the team option on an extra year, leaving him on the open market next summer.

Nobody was talking about the Brooks Orpik-Johan Franzen hit on Wednesday night, but on Thursday the Red Wings, Franzen in particular, broke their silence and started to call for the Penguins defenseman to receive some supplemental punishment from the NHL's wheel of discipline (step right up and play!).

Orpik was ejected from the game after being issued a five-minute major for kneeing, while Franzen suffered a charley horse as a result of the hit that occurred late in the first period. Franzen is expected to miss the next three games.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Franzen said he would like to see Orpik suspended, described the hit as "terrible," and then added this: "Stupidest play I ever seen. He lifted his foot up and put his knee inside of my leg.... I just put the puck back down deep and was trying to go get it, and he threw his knee out."

The game was not televised, so there is no video of the play (as of now).

Trent Edwards, released Monday by the Buffalo Bills, was claimed off waivers by the Jaguars on Tuesday.

Jacksonville's move comes on the heels of a second consecutive subpar performance by starting quarterback David Garrard, the most recent in a 28-3 Week 3 loss to Philadelphia. Garrard finished just 13 of 30 for 105 yards and one interception in the game, a week after throwing four picks during a 38-13 defeat at San Diego.

"As long as he's our best option, we'll continue to go with him," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said of Garrard on Monday.

"He wants very badly to play well for his teammates. The last two weeks haven't gone that way for him. Ultimately, you have to get it done and David knows that."

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

ORLANDO - Either Vince Carter will arrive this season like a belated birthday card - better late than never - or this homecoming will be shorter than he ever thought.

They still could stamp him "return to sender.''

Carter arrived in a trade last summer billed as the final piece to a championship team, then painfully became the package of damaged goods, leaving the Orlando Magic without the consistent perimeter star they needed for the playoffs.

He was thrilled to be back near his hometown of Daytona Beach, but he rarely played like it, looking more like a burden than a blessing when he wilted in the Eastern Conference finals against Boston, leading to an embarrassing end for a team with such high expectations.

"I expect him now to be Vince Carter, and last season he wasn't,'' said Magic general manager Otis Smith. "We expect more from him.''

Carter, 33, is facing a pivotal season, beginning the final guaranteed year ($17.3 million) of his contract. Unless Carter plays well early and the Magic look like serious contenders against Miami and Boston, they will try and unload his potentially expiring contract before the trade deadline in February. And if they can't, they already have decided not to pick up the team option on an extra year, leaving him on the open market next summer.

Donovan McNabb is expecting some brotherly love when the Redskins visit the Eagles Sunday.

Seriously.

"Honestly, I think that I would be cheered," McNabb said Tuesday. "More cheered than booed."

In one of the most anticipated games of the young 2010 season, McNabb will lead the struggling Washington Redskins (1-2) into Lincoln Financial Field to face the Philadelphia Eagles (2-1), the team that traded McNabb to its NFC East rival last Easter after 11 years and six Pro Bowl seasons.

McNabb, who guided the Eagles to eight playoff berths, five division titles and just the second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, believes his body of work over 11 years will trump any ill feelings from an Eagles fan base known as one of the toughest in all of professional sports.

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio will coach from the press box for the Spartans' Big 10 opener against Wisconsin this Saturday, just two weeks after he suffered a heart attack.

"It's good to be back," he told reporters at the weekly press briefing on Tuesday.

Mlive.com is reporting that Dantonio has a limited daily role with the team and will ease back into full-time duties as the season progresses. Dantonio suffered the heart attack after he led the Spartans past Notre Dame in a thrilling overtime game on Sept. 18. He had a stent implanted in a blocked artery.

An Asheville, N.C., golf course, designed by Tiger Woods is back in construction mode after developers agreed to reduce the potential impact the course would have had on the local environment.

Construction on The Cliffs at High Carolina, a mountain course scheduled to open in the fall of 2012, has picked up again now that developers have dropped by nearly half the effect the course would have had on adjacent trout streams.

A coalition of environmental groups had challenged permits issued by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, charging that the course would negatively impact trout streams without mitigation. Course developers slowed down the construction to address the issues, and cut the number of linear feet of impact from 3,132 to 1,665 by making the course shorter and by lengthening the walk between tees and greens.

The Cliffs will be Woods' first American course, and, in a statement issued Thursday, he proclaimed himself pleased with the changes.

Chances are, as baseball fans, we've probably all seen the grainy newsreel highlights of Bill Mazeroski's home run from Game 7 of the 1960 World Series -- the culmination of a game considered by many the greatest in the sport's history.

Now, thanks to Bing Crosby of all people, we'll get a chance to watch that seminal contest in its entirety, the New York Times reports.

The legendary crooner -- who had an ownership share in the Pirates -- commissioned a kinescope recording of Game 7 of that Pirates-Yankees World Series. It seems he was so nervous about the series he headed off to Paris with his wife, for fear that he would jinx the Bucs by sticking around stateside and actually watching the games. But he took precautions, in the form of five reels of film that captured NBC's television broadcast, to ensure he'd be able to watch his beloved team later on without fear of a jinx.

Crosby, who died in 1977, did watch the game after returning from Paris, and the film ended up in his wine cellar along with numerous other reels that included home movies and sports instructional films.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Corey Pavin has no concerns about Tiger Woods' passion for Ryder Cup play, even if he doesn't choose the world's top player for every match next month in Wales.

Pavin praised Woods' talent and teamwork Friday while discussing his final preparations for the Ryder Cup, which will be held Oct. 1-3. The U.S. captain also realizes everybody will be watching Woods, who could rebound from a mediocre season on tour and a nightmare year in his personal life with a strong performance for his country.

"We've talked about how many times he wants to play," Pavin said of Woods. "He said, 'I want to play five matches.' We talked about him not playing as many, and he said, 'Whatever's best for the team.'"

Pavin selected Woods 10 days ago as a captain's pick. Woods missed the 2008 competition while recovering from knee surgery, but is eager to play -- despite occasional questions in the past about his motivation and results in international team play.

"He's more than ready," Pavin said. "When he's there, he's 100 percent there. I think people maybe look at his record and come to some conclusion from that. Just because he doesn't have a winning record in the Ryder Cup doesn't mean he's not fully committed to it."

Pavin believes his Americans are underdogs against a powerful European team that has more familiarity with the course built specifically for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, the site of the European Tour's Wales Open for the past three years. He expects European captain Colin Montgomerie to add tweaks to the course to negate the U.S. team's few advantages, perhaps countering the Americans' greater power off the tee with additional rough at about 280 yards.

It is that time of year. Teams are clinching playoff spots while others are being eliminated from postseason consideration. That makes it time to award the hardware for the season's best performances.

Each season there are so many extraordinary performances. It would be nice to reward all of those who deserve it but unfortunately that is just not how it works. Only the best of the best will win the awards.

AL Most Valuable Player

This is really a two-player race: Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera. Some may think that Jose Bautista should be considered a candidate with his 50-plus homers but he is well behind both Hamilton and Cabrera in on-base percentage and batting average.

Hamilton is leading all of baseball with a .361 average to go with his 31 homers and 97 RBI but he has been hurt and unable to play since Sept. 4.

Cabrera is third in the league in hitting (.328), second in home runs (38) and first in RBI (126). He is a few points behind Hamilton in OPS. The fact that Cabrera has 31 intentional walks (to five for Hamilton) shows how little protection he had in the Tigers lineup. Winner:Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

A year after Logano hit the turn three wall at Dover International Speedway and launched his Toyota into an dizzying array of barrel rolls and acrobatic twists, he returned to the fall race at Dover and emerged unscathed and happy with a third-place finish.

But he was still feeling just how physical the one-mile concrete oval can be.

"I'm just trying to catch my breath. That was a long race," Logano said after recording his fourth top five of the season.

Logano, who led a single lap and spent 89 percent of his race in the top 15, started 22nd and moved up early. He was in fifth by the halfway mark.

The second-year driver credited himself with the so-so qualifying position.

Chiefsoffensive coordinator Charlie Weis underwent gall bladder surgery on Monday, a day after calling the plays in Kansas City's 31-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Chiefs coach Todd Haley had confirmed reports that Weis was experiencing a health issue, though he wasn't specific. Kansas City radio station 610 Sports and the Kansas City Star reported the operation to remove the gall bladder.

Weis' agent, Bob LaMonte, told the Star that Weis was told by doctors on Friday that he had an infected gall bladder and he should undergo surgery to take it out. Weis, however, opted to delay the surgery until Monday so he could proceed with his play-calling duties for Sunday's game.

ATLANTA -- It's safe to say Phil Mickelson has not gotten nearly as much out of the 2010 PGA Tour season as he would have liked.

Big hopes soared when everybody's favorite Tiger foil won the Masters in April -- Phil's fourth career major -- to position himself for ownership of golf's world No. 1 ranking for the surprising first time in a wickedly good but not-totally fulfilled career. Except, Lefty hasn't won since and Woods, despite a season to which only a Democratic incumbent could relate, remains top ranked.

"The Masters kind of made the year for me," Mickelson said. "It meant a lot to us emotionally; it meant a lot to me personally. I look back at the year and it really comes down to that one event.

"There were other events I played OK in, but I haven't won any events (since). For me the year was kind of salvaged by that Masters win."

Along the way, Mickelson continued to deal with wife Amy's fight with breast cancer, while also revealing health issues of his own -- psoriatic arthritis.

If that doesn't cut Mickelson some significant slack, what would? Nevertheless, a golden opportunity may have slipped away for the 40-year-old star. Woods' game isn't going to be mentally incapacitated forever. Also, a rich stock of young talent like Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler seems determined to alter golf's immediate landscape.